Sivaram murder vehicle, SIM card recovered - Police

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 June 2005, 09:31 GMT]Former military wing leader of PLOTE, Arumugam Sriskandarajan, also known as Peter, who was injured in the unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government of the Maldives in 1988 and another suspect were arrested by Sri Lanka Police in connection with the abduction and murder of Dharmeratnam Sivaram, 46, a senior TamilNet editor and a popular columnist, sources in Colombo said. The SIM card from the cellphone owned by Mr. Sivaram, was recovered by the Police in a house in Maharagama Monday morning, according to Colombo Crime Division (CCD) Director Senior SP Sarath Lugoda. A vehicle, which Police believes, was used by the assains who abducted Mr. Sivaram, was also seized by the Police from the house.

Investigations by Colombo Crime Division (CCD) of Police using extensive telecommunication records of Sivaram's cellphone led to the safehouse and arrests of the suspects, informed sources said.

Police is also looking for three individuals who were not connected to PLOTE (Peoples Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam), in connection with Sivaram's murder, sources added.

Another suspect, a former PLOTE cadre, code named RR, is absconding, Police said.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Chandra Fernando, declining to
comment on the complete details of the investigations carried out so far, said that they expect to arrest several other key figures in the next few days.

Mr Sivaram spent several weeks in December and early January, attending meetings in several states in the U.S, and was scheduled to visit Chuo University in Tokyo Japan during the first week of May before he was killed.